The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has unveiled proposed changes to International Education Standards (IESs) 2, 3, and 4 – Sustainability, which embed sustainability — from analysis to reporting to assurance — across aspiring professional accountants’ training.
The proposal
Key proposals include:
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Emphasising working with experts and in multi-disciplinary teams;
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Introducing key sustainability reporting concepts, such as systems thinking, value chains and scenario analysis;
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Referencing relevant sustainability reporting and assurance standards; and
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Creating a new assurance competence area and learning outcomes.
Additionally, IFAC has also proposed changes to IES 6 – Initial Professional Development – Assessment of Professional Competence, to modernise the standard to align with current good practice and clarify previously-existing requirements. This includes introducing new principles emphasising integrity, authenticity, equity, and inclusion. These changes will aid professional accountancy organisations, universities, and training programs in evaluating candidates’ readiness for the professional accountant role.
Shaping the future
Your comment is crucial in shaping the future professional accountant role. All stakeholders are encouraged to provide comments on both set of proposed changes by 24 June 2024. To allow your comments to be considered in developing its response to the IFAC, comments should be supported by specific reasoning and should be submitted in the Response Template.
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